11.30am | The First Lady
Present in tours
The Plaza de Mayo is Buenos Aires' oldest square and has been a focal point for Argentina's politics since the declaration of independence. Here Evita, then Argentina's First Lady, would address masses of supporters from a balcony in the Casa Rosada. She called her supporters "descamisados" or shirtless ones, because many were from poorer social classes. There are guided tours of the Casa Rosada on weekends and public holidays.
In the middle of the square, near the sculpture of Belgrano, there's a plaque that few people know about, that marks the spot where Perón buried a manuscript that he had written addressed to the young Argentines of the year 2000. Only the plaque remains because the military government that overthrew Perón in 1955 had the manuscript dug up and burned. The former president then found and published the text he had written, which began: “Argentina's youth in the year 2000 will want to look back at the past and demand accountability for all previous governments' use of the sacred trust that preceding generations put in their hands.”
Just off Plaza de Mayo at the intersection between the streets Hipólito Yrigoyen, Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca (Diagonal Sur) and Perú, you’ll find the Palacio de la Legislatura, the current City Legislature, which housed the Fundación Eva Perón, Evita's charitable foundation, which she created in 1948.
Go north on Peru one block and turn left onto Avenida de Mayo. As you walk towards the Avenida 9 de Julio, you’ll hit no. 930, the current seat of the Union of Tourism, Hotel and Food Service Workers of Argentina (UTHGRA). Here you’ll discover the El Museo del Pueblo, which has a permanent collection of artefacts and images of Evita.
A few blocks away on Avenida 9 de Julio and Moreno, sits the current Ministry for Social Development, recognizable for the two immense murals of Evita on its southern and northern facades. From a balcony on the eastern side of the building, Evita gave her famous 1951 speech where she resigned from her the position of Vice-President of the nation.
To continue the itinerary
Walk east through San Telmo, or you could take bus number 103 in Avenida Belgrano to Paseo Colón. On Paseo Colón head south to the junction with Independencia.
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